England vs. South Africa: Stellar Clash at the Start of the 2026 Nations Championship

England will face South Africa in the Nations Championship

The new format of the Rugby Nations Championship, which will begin in July, already has its first matches defined. England will face the Springboks in South Africa on the opening day. This tournament, a collaboration between the Six Nations and SANZAAR, will see England, Italy, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland travel to the southern hemisphere in July to play three matches against New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Japan, and Fiji. Subsequently, the Southern Hemisphere teams will move north in November for another three matches. The results of the six matches of each nation will be accumulated in a classification table by hemisphere. The teams will face each other in a finals weekend, which will be held at Twickenham from November 27 to 29. The sixth-placed team from the southern hemisphere will face the sixth from the northern hemisphere and so on, culminating in the final between the top two teams to compete for the inaugural Nations Championship trophy.

In the case of England, their summer schedule includes matches against South Africa, Fiji (probably also in South Africa) and Argentina in July. Then they will face Australia, New Zealand and Japan at Twickenham next November. Ireland will play against Australia, Japan and New Zealand in July, and in November will receive Argentina, Fiji and the Springboks. Wales will face Fiji, Argentina and South Africa in July, and will then host Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Scotland will travel to Argentina, South Africa and Fiji in July, before hosting Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Confirmation of this tournament has been slow in coming, as the original format was announced during the 2023 Rugby World Cup. It will be a biennial tournament, to be played in the years when there is no World Cup or British & Irish Lions tour, and replaces the traditional three-match summer series.

The CEO of Six Nations, Tom Harrison, highlighted the importance of the tournament:

The Nations Championship has the power to redefine the future of rugby, and the partnership between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR signals a tectonic shift in the sport.

Tom Harrison, CEO of Six Nations

Harrison added that the tournament “will act as a catalyst to expand the reach of rugby globally” and “will take international rugby to new heights”. Brendan Morris, CEO of SANZAAR, also expressed his enthusiasm:

The establishment of the Nations Championship is a historic and exciting step for rugby that will see SANZAAR members, with the incorporation of Fiji and Japan, face the best of Europe and the Northern Hemisphere every two years.

Brendan Morris, CEO of SANZAAR

Morris concluded by saying: “We warmly welcome our Pacific neighbors, Japan and Fiji, to the tournament, as part of our ‘team’. The participating teams are excited, the broadcasters are excited, and the fans are excited, and we look forward to July 2026, when it all begins.”

Complete Nations Championship Calendar:

JULY 2026 – SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SERIES

• Matchday 1 – Saturday, July 4, 2026

• New Zealand vs France
• Australia vs Ireland
• Japan vs Italy
• Fiji vs Wales
• South Africa vs England
• Argentina vs Scotland

• Matchday 2 – Saturday, July 11, 2026

• New Zealand vs Italy
• Australia vs France
• Japan vs Ireland
• Fiji vs England
• South Africa vs Scotland
• Argentina vs Wales

• Matchday 3 – Saturday, July 18, 2026

• Japan vs France
• New Zealand vs Ireland
• Australia vs Italy
• Fiji vs Scotland
• South Africa vs Wales
• Argentina vs England

NOVEMBER 2026 – NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SERIES

• Matchday 4 – November 6-8, 2026

• Ireland vs Argentina
• Italy vs South Africa
• Scotland vs New Zealand
• Wales vs Japan
• France vs Fiji
• England vs Australia

• Matchday 5 – November 13-15, 2026

• France vs South Africa
• Italy vs Argentina
• Wales vs New Zealand
• England vs Japan
• Ireland vs Fiji
• Scotland vs Australia

• Matchday 6 – Saturday, November 21, 2026

• England vs New Zealand
• Scotland vs Japan
• Ireland vs South Africa
• Italy vs Fiji
• France vs Argentina
• Wales vs Australia